Dr. Robert Needlman, is a nationally acclaimed pediatrician, author of "Dr. Spock's Baby Basics," and co-author of "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care." He is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where he specialized in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. 

In 1989, he co-founded the first pediatric-based literacy support program, Reach Out and Read, which is now a national center with more than 4,600 sites in 50 states, Italy, Spain, Israel, and the Philippines. He is a fellow of Zero-to-Three, the National Center for Clinical Infant Programs, and a member of Bright Futures in Practice of the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health and the Steering Committee of the Ohio READ Alliance. He also is a contributor to numerous pediatric textbooks and journals, a widely featured speaker on early learning and literacy, and a columnist for Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine.

Dr. Needlman graduated from the Yale University School of Medicine, and completed his Pediatric residency and fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Boston University. Dr. Needlman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is board certified in Pediatrics.